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Off to the side, in a pile, there was a stack of envelopes with Vic’s small, neat cursive. Looking over her shoulder, she felt a stab of guilt about intruding on Vic’s private communication with Emily. The one on top was obviously a greeting card that had come on a bouquet, safe enough to read. Carefully opening the envelope, she pulled out a card with blue accents and a stylized stork holding a bundle in its beak, clearly a card for a boy baby. The message inside was touching.
Dear Em, Thank you so much for our little boy. He’s adorable! I love the powerful name David that you chose. David, it is. Love you, Vic.
Wiping a tear from her cheek, she replaced the card. She’d encourage Vic to offer them to the boys as well.
There were more envelopes, some with canceled stamps, others with just Emily’s name again, and thicker, as though they might contain letters. She really didn’t want to read anything that Vic might find uncomfortable, but again, she reminded herself that he’d said it was up to her.
The first letter was written on lined paper, the writing big, flourishing, obviously not from Vic. She flipped through the pages and came to the last one. The closing before the signature sent goosebumps down Rose’s spine.
Disappointed in you,
Mother
That was enough. She got up from the bed and went in search of Vic. He’d just come in from the clinic and stood at the counter, fixing a cup of coffee.
“Hey. You still in the closet?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah, gonna be there for a while, I suspect. I just wanted to pass this by you before I read it, just to get your take on whether or not I should burn it.”
He took the page from her and read the closing. “Yep, that’d be Margaret Benoit. Did you know her?”
“I did, but not well. My family lived out on the bayou. The Benoits were, well… You know what they were. Leaders in the village, highbrows of the low country.”
“Ha!” Vic laughed. “Yes, they were, and not a one left in Cypress Cove.”
“Good riddance,” Rose said. “So, the question is, do I read the letter?”
“I’m sure it’s an admonition after learning Emily was pregnant out of wedlock. You can read it. It might give you more insight, if you want more.”
“I loved her, Vic. We just went our separate ways.”
“My question is, why did she keep the communication with her family? They had banished her. My boys didn’t meet any members of her family until her niece, Bridget, sought them out.”
“And that’s how Chris Harcourt turned up here.”
“Exactly. Actually, those letters should probably go to Chris. I’m not sure he knows the entire story.”
“I doubt it. Maggie confided the boys don’t have the courage to tell him.”
Chris Harcourt was new on the family scene. He was Dave and Justin’s half brother. They had the same mother, but Chris’s birth father was Val Amotte, Aunt Elizabeth’s husband of a year. And the story was that Val had raped Emily Benoit, Dave and Justin’s mother, before she was twenty. He’d then joined the Army to run away. To this day, he claimed it had been consensual.
Baby Chris had been given up for adoption. No one had wanted to bring up the rape allegation to Chris, but it was just a matter of time before he found out. Val Amotte had reached out to him and was forging a relationship with his only son.
“I think I want to read the letters, Vic. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”
“I have nothing to hide from you, Rose.”
“Okay. If you’re sure, back to the closet I go.”
The room, like the rest of the house, was dark, so she flipped on the light on her side of the bed, sat down on the covers with her back to the headboard, and began reading.
March 22, 19
Dear Emily,
Since we cannot speak civilly over the telephone, I have written to explain my feelings. This way, if you have something to say in response, you can do so in a letter without the emotion our conversations have had.
Daddy agrees we need to have an understanding about this decision so you won’t feel like we are casting you out. That is the furthest from our intention. It’s for your own good, for your reputation. Do you think the Chastains are going to want their son to marry a woman with a child born from rape? I don’t see Victor coming to your rescue, offering to marry you now. This way, you will have a fresh start in your marriage to him.
